Sacrifice

Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:27-28 NIV

Sacrifice, most of us parents knows what it means to sacrifice. We sacrifice new clothes, new shoes, or haircuts all for the benefit of our children. Sometimes we sacrifice eating a meal just to make sure our kids don't go to bed hungry. If our children need it, we are going to find a way to provide it.

Sometimes our time is sacrificed so we can spend time listening to a friend in need. We go out-of-our-way to help out in a time of crisis. We try to help them when they are being evicted. We lay our hands on them and pray for them when they're ill. We do whatever it takes to help make things right.

This past weekend I spent time remembering what one man did for each of us. Before he did this, there were all kinds of sacrifices required for all different types of sin. These sacrifices though did not clean us on the inside, they may have made a difference but it didn't really change anyone.

The ultimate sacrifice was done for each of us 2000 years ago, Christ did a one time good for eternity sacrifice. He was beaten with a whip that had blades on the end. It ripped His skin. They shoved a crown of thorns in His head causing more bleeding. He was spat upon, beaten even more, and made to carry His cross all the way to Golgotha.

There they pounded the nails in his hands and through his feet and then he was raised up and hung on a cross. People there still yelled at Him and told Him to "Save yourself Son of God." The thing was He could have stopped it all at any moment. He could have not gone through the pain and just walked away, who would have blamed Him.

But He didn't it, He went through all of this to take on every sin we could ever commit. He thought of me knowing one day I would screw up so bad with our finances that we could have lost it all. He thought of you and the wrong choices you have made. He thought of each one of us as He hung there that one Friday and asked God to forgive each of us because we no not what we do.

Then He died, He became the sacrifice so if we had a need He could provide it. Don't let His brokenness count for nothing. Accept His sacrifice, it makes an eternal difference.